Gridania

Each tree, each shrub, each leaf, each blade of grass-we treat them as our own sons and daughters. And for that, we are loved by the wood.

—O-Guna-Por—Master conjuror and prophet

Gridania(グリダニア, Guridania?) is one of the city-states in Final Fantasy XIV, located on the Aldenard continent. It is located in the midst of the Black Shroud, a dense forest also known as the Twelvewoods that serves to filter out those hostile toward the Elementals and those in cooperation with them. Gridania is by far the most unified of the city-states. Its guilds all work in cooperation with each other under the guiding hand of Kan-E-Senna, who brought back the Order of the Twin Adder.

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In the eastern reaches of the Aldenard landmass, home to vast, dense woodlands and coursing rivers, lies the forest nation of Gridania. The cityscape is a mosaic of labyrinthine waterways and great wooden structures, so gracefully constructed they seem a part of the surrounding environment.

The Gridanian emphasis on natural harmony has led to its preeminence among Eorzea's city-states in trades such as forestry, agriculture, carpentry, and leatherworking. Gridania is also home to the Wood Wailers, a militant band of polearm-wielding sentries charged with the protection of their homeland.

The favored goddess of the citizenry is Nophica, the Matron, but great faith is also placed in the wisdom of the Seedseers—young oracles who guide the nation based on the will of the forest's elementals.

The elementals in the Twelvewoods around Gridania pervade all aspects of Gridanian culture. The Gridanians respect, and even fear, the elementals for the power they wield, and appease or communicate with the elementals through festivals and ritual dance. The elementals in the woods guard and watch over observant Gridanians, and would normally control creatures of the forest and use them to attack outsiders. A sort of barrier called the Hedge prevents outsiders from being subject to this violent elemental nature, called "woodsin" or "woodwrath". The Hedge occasionally falters, however, and when it does, those affected with woodwrath need to be purified through ritual dance.

Gridania and Limsa Lominsa are about equal in popularity in terms of starting nations, both at a disadvantage to Ul'dah's convenient geographic placement and population density. However, Gridania has seen far more traffic due to Louisoix's exclusive presence here, drawing primal hunters from all over to initiate and repeat quests. Access to the battle for "To Kill a Raven" has attracted even more attention in recent days as well, although the recent addition of Skirmish has given Limsa Lominsa more business than usual.

Player reception of Gridania as a starting nation has been poor, many complaining about the layout of both the town and the outlying Black Shroud region. Because of this, Naoki Yoshida and his team have made its complete redesign one of the top priorities for 2.0. In the Seventh Umbral Era, it is expected that either this region or the adjacent region of Mor Dhona will be "ground zero" for the landscape-changing catastrophe.

Images of the redesigned region were released at E3, including concept art of a completely redesigned town and gameplay screenshots in a more open forest area. Unlike the current city-states, the new town will have an Aetheryte crystal in the middle of the town square, rather than in a secluded area on the edge of town.

The market building in Old Gridania.

Early leaks from the alpha test show that Gridania has been divided into two areas, called New Gridania and Old Gridania. The town has undergone aesthetic redesigns, but is largely the same. Many of the inaccessible areas have been opened up, such as the garden below the Botanist's Guild. The largest changes, as shown in other videos, can be found in the outlying Black Shroud region.